Damien Hirst: The Magnificent Seven. 2000

Damien Hirst’s The Magnificent Seven is an artwork consisting of seven ping-pong balls presented in their original cardboard box, signed and ink-stamped on the base. Each ball features a word related to academic work: “Theories,” “Models,” “Methods,” “Approaches,” “Assumptions,” “Results,” and “Findings”—terms that may circulate through a researcher’s mind.

The artwork is a limited edition published by Gagosian Gallery in New York for the exhibition Theories, Models, Methods, Approaches, Assumptions, Results and Findings, which explored the relationship between art, concepts, and everyday objects.

The work is displayed in the Heckscher-Ohlin Room on the fifth floor at Sveavägen 65.

Damien Hirst, born in the United Kingdom in 1965, studied at Goldsmiths in London and rose to prominence during the late 1980s. He is known for challenging conventions within contemporary art through works that address themes such as mortality, religion, science, and consumer culture.

Among his best-known works are installations featuring preserved animals, including Mother and Child (Divided) (1993) and Away from the Flock (1994), as well as For the Love of God (2007), a sculpture of a human skull covered with diamonds.

Through installations, sculptures, drawings, and paintings, Hirst explores themes of life, death, belief, and desire. In 2008, he staged the auction Beautiful Inside My Head Forever at Sotheby’s, where he sold new works directly to the public.